A middle-aged woman is
currently recuperating in a Lagos hospital, after robbers stormed her
rented apartment on the Lagos Island, during which she stabbed one of
the assailants to death.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the woman, identified simply as Adenike, and her family were attacked on Tuesday at about 2am on Eyin Iga Street.
Our correspondent
gathered that the robbers, who were armed with knives and cutlasses,
reportedly gained entrance into the house after damaging the gates.
It was learnt that when
the robbers got to Adenike’s apartment, there was a struggle during
which one of the robbers, identified as Quadri Iginla, cut her with a
knife.
Adenike was said to have wrenched the knife from Iginla, and stabbed him in the stomach.
The robbery suspect reportedly lost balance and fell off from the two-storey building.
Neighbours, who learnt of the robbery, were said to have alerted the police from the Adeniji Adele Division.
The other suspected robbers reportedly escaped after the police got to the area.
The policemen were said
to have rushed Iginla, who was unconscious, to the Lagos Island General
Hospital, while Adenike was also taken by her family to a private
hospital.
When our correspondent got to the area on Thursday, it was learnt that Iginla died in the hospital.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro,
Adenike’s husband, who declined to give his name, said the robbers
injured his wife in the hand with a knife, adding that there was a
struggle during which Iginla was pushed off the building.
He said, “We cannot
confirm the number of the robbers. They entered my apartment at about
2am. One of them injured my wife in the hand and there was a struggle.
As this went on, other people called the police and a patrol van was
sent to our street.
“The robbers quickly
fled from the house. One of them, who had sustained a knife injury, fell
off the staircases. The policemen took him to a hospital for
treatment.”
A police source told our
correspondent that Iginla was not attended to at the general hospital
for lack of a vacant bed. He added that the robbery suspect died at a
health center on the Adeniji Adele Road.
He said, “The police
patrol team responded to a distress call on the street at about 2.30am. A
male robbery suspect, Iginla, was found injured. The suspect and
others, who are still at large, allegedly entered Adenike’s room. While
making away with possessions, the woman overpowered one of them, and
stabbed him in the stomach.
“She was also injured in
the hand. During the struggle, others escaped, but the robber fell off
the building. The police took the suspect and the victim to the
hospital.”
A resident, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that Iginla’s girlfriend
showed up at the police station, and wanted to know where he was being
treated.
He said, “No one in the
area knew the identity of the injured robber. His girlfriend showed up
at the station, and was asking the police to let her stay with him, but
they did not allow her.”
Our correspondent
gathered that the knife had been recovered, while the case had been
transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation.
The Lagos State Police
Public Relations Officer, DSP Patricia Amadin, confirmed the incident.
She added that the command was on the trail of other members of the
gang.
She said, “The team of
policemen was led by the Divisional Police Officer, and the robbery
suspect was found unconscious, having fallen from the two-storey
building.
“He
was rushed to a hospital where he later died. The corpse has been
deposited in a morgue for autopsy. Investigation continues as the
command is on the trail of the fleeing gang members.”
